Period

By Fic Fairy

"Buy a cake and share it with family or close friends."- Judy Blume's suggestion for how a girl should celebrate her first menstrual period

Serena was pissed off. She was meant to be lecturing on the Ideological Apprenticeship of Sylvia Plath, and what was she doing? Running around her daughter's Middle School looking for the little madam crying wolf.

She had the call a couple of hours before, but had been unable to get out of a prior commitment. She'd not been overly concerned since she was sure the school nurse would keep her eye on Olivia until she arrived. If it had been that urgent or that desperate her assistant would have said so.

In any event, Olivia wasn't even in the nurses office. The nurse hadn't seen her all day, and that had only irritated Serena more, until she'd asked at the school office and found out where her daughter actually was.

And that had pissed her off even more.

She strode down the corridor, clocking the room numbers, already planning what she'd say to the little toad when she saw her.

Finally she found the room, recognising it from parent / teacher conference night. She couldn't believe the cheek of her child Surely she'd raised her better than that. She flung open the door without knocking and marched straight in.

HE was sat at his desk and had the audacity to put his finger to his lips as she entered. Telling HER to be quiet! It was unbelievable! She looked around his classroom and that was where she found her, curled up on the floor by his desk, cushioned by the material of a fleece jacket - his presumably, her own coat laid over her as a blanket, fast asleep.

She swung round, facing him, "What is this?"

Again he held his finger to his lips and when he spoke it was in a whisper, "Ms Benson, Olivia doesn't feel well."

"Well that I know!" she snapped crisply, "But that doesn't explain why she's not with the school nurse."

"She was too embarrassed to go to the school nurse. She had stomach pains. She's menstruating."

Serena was close to breaking point. She wasn't sure what offended her more. The fact that her daughter had had her dragged away from a lecture for nothing more than a little period pain or that she'd seen fit to confide in her sexy young male teacher rather than the school nurse. She didn't know what her daughter was playing at but she didn't approve. Not the in the slightest.

She looked at him disparagingly, "And?"

He sighed, treating her like she was the idiot instead of him, ironic considering the way he'd been suckered in by Olivia's attention seeking ways, and got up from his seat to go and crouch down by her in a way that was wholly inappropriate since he was her teacher.

"Ms Benson. Its her first time. It's a lot to come to terms with."

His words cut deep. She knew all about the rite of passage that was a girls first period. She lectured on it for Gods sake, not to mention the years she'd spent worrying about this particular moment. Her daughter… fertile… it just didn't bear thinking about it. All the same, she could have done without the histrionics. She looked at him coldly,

"I'm sure she'll live Mr Stevens. It happens to us all. And she's a late starter, she's been lucky."

He reached out and stroked her daughter's forehead, making her want to slap him all the more, "She's in quite a bit of pain."

Serena looked at her daughter, sleeping soundly. Clearly she was in SO much pain. Or not as the case may be. She moved towards them, clapping her hands, "Olivia! Wake up!"

Olivia woke with a start, immediately reaching out for and grabbing her teacher. It made Serena feel sick. If she carried on looking for attention that way she was going to get herself into a lot of trouble. She strode forward and jerked the girl from his arms.

"OLIVIA!" she snapped, "Get up! And pull yourself together. You're being pathetic."

*** L&OSVU *** L&OSVU *** L&OSVU *** L&OSVU ***

She hated how her mom was being. So cold, so rough. But all the same nothing hurt like the searing pains in her stomach, that somehow were managing to run all the way from there right up to her neck, and then down to her toes. In the fog of the pain she looked to the only person who she knew she could trust.

"Mr S…"

She knew she was being whiney and pathetic but she couldn't stop herself, no matter how cross she knew it would make her mom.

Mr Steven's reached out for her, but it was too late, her mom had already jerked her away.

"We're going home. Come on."

The last thing she wanted to do was go with her mom. She knew she wouldn't be sympathetic and kind. Not like Mr Stevens had been.

She knew it was crazy, going to a male teacher with such a personal female problem, but she hadn't want to go to the school nurse, or anyone else. She didn't trust anyone like she did Mr Stevens. He was always so nice to her, so kind. Even at that moment with her mom creating he was kind.

"Remember what I said yeah? Lie on a heating pad, or make a hot water bottle. Just rest ok?"

She nodded, fighting back tears, and thanked him for being so nice to her. But it didn't matter, he didn't hear because her mother had already dragged her out of the room. She tried to keep up, she really did, but before too long the pain came back again and she ended up bent double, crying out in agony.

"Olivia!" There it came again, her mother, disapproving, angry, shrill. She didn't want to argue with her so she just dragged herself, clutching her stomach, until she reached the car and fell into it crying.

That was when she felt her mom watching her. Then they came, the cold harsh words,

"You've got 40 years of this to look forward to, so get over it."

She stifled her sobs as they pulled out of the school parking lot, although the pain just kept getting worse. She wished they'd never called her mom. She wished she could have stayed with Mr Stevens. At least he looked after her.

Halfway back to the apartment, they pulled up outside a drugstore. Her mom got out but Olivia just sat, waiting, doing as she was told. When her mom returned she shoved a bag onto her lap, and when she peered inside she saw it was full of towels and tampons. Her mom had never discussed them with her, but she knew what they were, and what they were for. She looked at Serena, "Thank you.".

Her mother just shrugged and then reached into her pocket, pulling out a little rectangular box. She knew what they were too. People talked about them at school, laughed about them.

Serena looked at her questioningly, "Do you know what these are?"

She nodded and seconds later found said box dumped unceremoniously in her lap. She looked at her mom, her eyes wide, not knowing why she'd been given them, "Why have you given me condoms?"

Serena rolled her eyes, "Because Olivia, you're now capable of getting pregnant, and I'm telling you now young lady, you're not bringing a baby into my house. So you use a condom, or you face the consequences, understand? One bastard under my roof is enough."